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Auditor Tim Keller has been looking into APS board member Analee Maestas for months since the New Mexico Public Education Department discovered she may have used school tax dollars to pay a company to clean her home.

The investigation surrounds a $342 receipt filed for reimbursement by Maestas.

The receipt appears to show that the company cleaned some carpets at La Promesa Early Learning Center, a school that Maestas helps run.

But the receipt was flagged because it appeared to be doctored, showing that someone changed the address of where the work was completed, from Maestas' home to the school.

Keller investigated the incident and his findings of fact Tuesday revealed that through written testimony, the cleaning company never stepped foot inside the school.

Instead, Keller said they cleaned Maestas' home, and that Maestas altered the receipt to get reimbursed by the district with tax dollars.

"For this kind of dollar amount, folks just admit that they did wrong, and then they takeresponsibility for their actions," Keller said. "In this case there's been an effort to sweep it under the rug."

Keller says that his findings have been sent to the Public Education Department and Bernalillo County District Attorney Kari Brandenburg for review.

He says that Maestas could potentially face charges like receiving public money for services not rendered, making or permitting a false public voucher, or other charges stemming from violations under the Government Conduct Act and Public School Finance Act.

The PED could review the findings of fact and decide to strip Maestas' teaching licenses.

Board President Dave Peercy said that he was aware of the situation and is now monitoring it closely.

The board can only censure Maestas (express disapproval of Maestas' actions formally.) Voters can only remove Maestas via a recall.

When these allegations first surfaced, Maestas denied any wrongdoing. She didn't return our calls Tuesday night.

Fact-finding into the allegations also revealed:

-- The executive director purportedly paid for school carpet cleaning with $342.40 in cash because the school's business officers were at a conference; however, the referenced conference actually took place the prior month.

-- The school's business office failed to follow its own policy in how it processed thereimbursement.

-- The inquiry into the matter by the La Promesa Governing Council appears to have been limited to information provided by school personnel.